# Heike Makatsch
**Heike Makatsch** (born 1971 in [Düsseldorf](https://www.edgepedia.org/dusseldorf)) is a German actress, singer, and author who first became known in the 1990s as a presenter on the music channel VIVA and later established herself as one of Germany's most prominent film and television actresses, with international roles including Mia in *Love Actually* (2003) and [Hildegard Knef](https://www.edgepedia.org/hildegard-knef) in *Hilde* (2009).[1](https://www.filmportal.de/person/heike-makatsch_9ead8025929048a5907bcf99d29dfae3) • [2](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Heike%20Makatsch/00/22285)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971, Düsseldorf; daughter of Rainer Makatsch, a former German national ice hockey goalkeeper[1](https://www.filmportal.de/person/heike-makatsch_9ead8025929048a5907bcf99d29dfae3) |
| Television start | Hired by the newly founded music channel VIVA in 1993; hosted *Interaktiv* and *Heikes Hausbesuche*, then *Bravo TV* on RTL II from summer 1995[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/30212/biografie/) |
| Film debut | *Männerpension* (1996) as Maren Krummsieg; Bavarian Film Award for Best Young Actress[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538443/awards/) |
| International work | Lived in London 1999–2005; appeared in *Resident Evil* (2002) and *Love Actually* (2003)[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538443/) |
| Major awards | Bambi for Best National Actress (2006, *Margarete Steiff*); Golden Camera for Best German Actress (2002); International Emmy nomination (2006); 17 wins and 9 nominations total per IMDb[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538443/awards/) • [6](https://www.unitel.de/media/files/produktpdf/15725d204f_p_3091.pdf) |
| Signature roles | Hildegard Knef in *Hilde* (2009); toy manufacturer Margarete Steiff (2005); Tatort detective Ellen Berlinger (2016–2023); Carlotta Klatt in *Where's Wanda?* (2024– )[1](https://www.filmportal.de/person/heike-makatsch_9ead8025929048a5907bcf99d29dfae3) • [7](https://www.joyn.de/bts/themen/ard/zero-star-heike-makatsch-das-macht-die-schauspielerin-heute-123714) |
## Early life and education
Makatsch grew up in Düsseldorf, where she attended a Montessori primary school and the Max-Planck-Gymnasium. After an exchange year in [New Mexico](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-mexico) at age 16, she completed her Abitur in 1990, then took two three-month internships at the Düsseldorf city magazines *PRINZ* and *Düsseldorfer Illu*. Intending to become a journalist, she began a degree in media studies, politics, and sociology at the University of Düsseldorf but left after four semesters; she also abandoned a dressmaker apprenticeship.[2](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Heike%20Makatsch/00/22285) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538443/)
## VIVA and the "girlie" years
In 1993, Dieter Grony, then head of the newly founded music channel VIVA, discovered her and hired her as a presenter for *Interaktiv* and *Heikes Hausbesuche*. Her cheeky, natural manner appealed to the youth audience, and during the era of the [Spice Girls](https://www.edgepedia.org/spice-girls) she became one of the leading figures of the German "girlie" movement.[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/30212/biografie/) She was one of the first female hosts on the channel, appearing alongside presenters such as Nils Bokelberg and Mola Adebisi in the station's first broadcast minutes.[8](https://zeitgeistfilms.com/media/films/77/presskit.pdf) • [9](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/das-erwachsenwerden-der-heike-makatsch-3995572.html)
After winning a Bravo Otto as Best Female TV Star in 1995, she moved to RTL II in the summer of 1995 and hosted the youth program *Bravo TV* for two years.[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/30212/biografie/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538443/awards/) Her own weekly *Heike Makatsch Show*, added to the schedule in 1997, was canceled after eight episodes because of low ratings.[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/30212/biografie/)
## Film career
**Breakthrough.** Her screen debut came as the lisping would-be singer Maren Krummsieg in Detlev Buck's comedy *Männerpension* (1996), a role that included a reworking of [Tammy Wynette](https://www.edgepedia.org/tammy-wynette)'s "Stand By Your Man". She won the Bavarian Film Award for Best Young Actress for the performance.[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/30212/biografie/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538443/awards/) In the following years she shed her girlie image and established herself as a serious actress: a German Film Award nomination for her lead in *Obsession* (1997), critical praise for Buck's Salvation Army satire *Liebe deine Nächste* (1998), a supporting role in the acclaimed World War II drama *Aimée & Jaguar* (1998), and the role of the friend of writer [Kurt Tucholsky](https://www.edgepedia.org/kurt-tucholsky) in *Gripsholm* (2000).[1](https://www.filmportal.de/person/heike-makatsch_9ead8025929048a5907bcf99d29dfae3) At the 2001 Berlinale she was named one of the European Shooting Stars.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/person/heike-makatsch_9ead8025929048a5907bcf99d29dfae3)
**International work.** Having moved to London, where she lived from 1999 to 2005 during her relationship with the British actor [Daniel Craig](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-craig), whom she had met on the set of *Obsession*, she appeared in English-language productions including *Late Night Shopping* (2001), [Paul W. S. Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-w-s-anderson)'s *Resident Evil* (2002) as Lisa, and [Richard Curtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-curtis)'s ensemble romantic comedy *Love Actually* (2003) as Mia, the secretary with whom Alan Rickman's character Harry becomes involved.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/person/heike-makatsch_9ead8025929048a5907bcf99d29dfae3) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538443/) • [10](https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/emma-thompson-real-emotion-love-actually-scene/)
**Biographical roles.** In 2005 she returned to German cinema in a major way with the mockumentary *Keine Lieder über Liebe* and *Almost Heaven*, in which she sang as a German country singer aiming for Nashville.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/person/heike-makatsch_9ead8025929048a5907bcf99d29dfae3) Her title role in the television film *Margarete Steiff* (2005), about the stuffed-toy manufacturer, brought her a Bambi as Best National Actress in 2006, a Bavarian Television Award, and a nomination for the International Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/person/heike-makatsch_9ead8025929048a5907bcf99d29dfae3) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538443/awards/) In 2009 she took on her second biopic, playing the actress and singer Hildegard Knef in Kai Wessel's *Hilde*, a film nominated for four German Film Awards; she prepared with singing and acting lessons and recorded the album *Hilde – Heike Makatsch singt Hildegard Knef*.[3](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/30212/biografie/) • [11](https://www.bz-berlin.de/archiv-artikel/makatsch-ueber-ihre-knef-rolle) A third biographical role followed as the physician and women's rights pioneer Hope Bridges Adams-Lehmann in *Dr. Hope – Eine Frau gibt nicht auf* (2009), which earned her a Bavarian Television Award nomination in 2010.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/person/heike-makatsch_9ead8025929048a5907bcf99d29dfae3) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538443/awards/)
## Television and recent work
From 2016 to 2023 Makatsch played the lead detective Ellen Berlinger in the Mainz/Freiburg *Tatort* episodes.[7](https://www.joyn.de/bts/themen/ard/zero-star-heike-makatsch-das-macht-die-schauspielerin-heute-123714) Her later television and streaming work includes the cyber-thriller *Zero* (2021) as journalist Cynthia Bonsant, the social comedy *Herzogpark* (2022), and the dark comedy series *[Where's Wanda?](https://www.edgepedia.org/wheres-wanda)* (2024– ), Apple TV+'s first German series, in which she plays Carlotta Klatt, a mother who places her whole neighborhood under surveillance to find her missing daughter.[7](https://www.joyn.de/bts/themen/ard/zero-star-heike-makatsch-das-macht-die-schauspielerin-heute-123714) • [12](https://www.dwdl.de/interviews/99856/heike_makatsch_auch_in_einer_serie_ist_letztlich_alles_politisch/) She is an International Emmy Award nominee for the role.[13](https://elpais.com/television/series/buscando-a-wanda/) In *Call My Agent Berlin* (2024, Disney+) she played herself.[14](https://actors.bbfc-cloud.de/en/actors/heike-makatsch) Upcoming projects include the second season of *Where's Wanda?*, the costume drama *Vienna Game*, a *Heidi* miniseries as Fräulein Rottenmeier, and the feature film *Komplizinnen – Vernunft ist keine Lösung* directed by Sonja Heiss.[14](https://actors.bbfc-cloud.de/en/actors/heike-makatsch)
## Personal life
Makatsch has three daughters. Her first daughter, Mieke Ellen, was born in 2007 during her relationship with the musician Max Martin Schröder of the band Tomte; a second daughter followed in October 2009 and a third in 2015.[15](https://www.imdb.com/de/name/nm0538443/bio/) She has spoken publicly about the shortage of interesting film roles for women over 45 and about balancing family life with filming.[16](https://www.vogue.de/artikel/heike-makatsch-coverstory-dezember-balance) • [17](https://www.zeit.de/arbeit/2019-10/heike-makatsch-schauspielerin-arbeit)
## References
1. [Heike Makatsch – Biografie, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/person/heike-makatsch_9ead8025929048a5907bcf99d29dfae3)
2. [Heike Makatsch – Munzinger Biographie](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Heike%20Makatsch/00/22285)
3. [Heike Makatsch: Biografie – FILMSTARTS.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/personen/30212/biografie/)
4. [Heike Makatsch – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538443/awards/)
5. [Heike Makatsch – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538443/)
6. [Tom Sawyer press kit, Unitel](https://www.unitel.de/media/files/produktpdf/15725d204f_p_3091.pdf)
7. ["Zero"-Star Heike Makatsch: Was macht die Schauspielerin jetzt? – Joyn/teleschau](https://www.joyn.de/bts/themen/ard/zero-star-heike-makatsch-das-macht-die-schauspielerin-heute-123714)
8. [Love Actually press kit, Zeitgeist Films](https://zeitgeistfilms.com/media/films/77/presskit.pdf)
9. [Von Viva zum Schauspiel: Das Erwachsenwerden der Heike Makatsch – Der Tagesspiegel](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/das-erwachsenwerden-der-heike-makatsch-3995572.html)
10. [Emma Thompson on the Love Actually necklace scene – Woman & Home](https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/emma-thompson-real-emotion-love-actually-scene/)
11. [Makatsch über ihre Knef-Rolle – B.Z. Berlin](https://www.bz-berlin.de/archiv-artikel/makatsch-ueber-ihre-knef-rolle)
12. [Heike Makatsch: "Auch in einer Serie ist letztlich alles politisch" – DWDL.de](https://www.dwdl.de/interviews/99856/heike_makatsch_auch_in_einer_serie_ist_letztlich_alles_politisch/)
13. [Buscando a Wanda – El País](https://elpais.com/television/series/buscando-a-wanda/)
14. [Heike Makatsch – Berlin Brandenburg Film Commission](https://actors.bbfc-cloud.de/en/actors/heike-makatsch)
15. [Heike Makatsch – Biografie, IMDb (German)](https://www.imdb.com/de/name/nm0538443/bio/)
16. [Heike Makatsch im VOGUE-Coverinterview – Vogue Germany](https://www.vogue.de/artikel/heike-makatsch-coverstory-dezember-balance)
17. [Heike Makatsch im ZEIT-ONLINE-Podcast – Die ZEIT](https://www.zeit.de/arbeit/2019-10/heike-makatsch-schauspielerin-arbeit)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › German actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license